Shoe-heel.



E. S. HELWITZ.

SHOE HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. I917- 1 63 555m Patented Apr. 23, 19118.

' make and use the same.

ELLIS S. HEL'WITZ, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SHOE-HEEL.

Specification ofltetters Patent. Palflgugnflgngd A 23 e91 Application filed. March 20, 1917. Serial No. 155,983.

To all whom it may concern:

My invention relates to a rubber heel adapted to be detachably placed on the heels a drawing which illustrates the preferred emof leather shoes to soften thetread of the wearer. It is especially adapted to what are known as French heels on womens shoes.

The object of the invention is to provide a practicable rubber heel pad which may be easily attached to and detached from the shoe without the employment of any extraneous fastening devices such as screws,-

or the like and which will embody a means for causing it to adhere to the pavement and prevent it from slipping under the pressure of the wearer.

To this end my invention comprises certain novel features of construction andrela- .tive arrangement of parts which will be fully set. forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in-the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying j, bodiment of my invention.

Inthis drawing-- Figure 1 is a section view of the heel pad in position, and

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same. The heel pad isformed of a proper com position of soft rubber with a base or pad proper a adapted to lie under the top lift of the heel and with an elastic uprising wall 6 which tapers upwardly and inwardly and is adapted to embrace the flaring lower part of the "French heel so that the elastic wall holds the rubber pad or detachable heel in place. I

It should be noted that this wall 6 holds the pad securely and yet removably in position and allOWs the device to be applied to the heels of shoes without the use'of any other fastening devices and without necessitating the employment of skilled labor such as the labor of a shoemaker m attaching rubber heels by screws, nails and like fastenings. It will further be noted that by attaching the heel in this way a large measure of freedom of movement is provided for the pad which increases the flexibility of the device and the cushioning efiect thereof.

The bottom of the pad a is formed with a number of cavities c which open on the under side of the pad a and directly above these cavities c are protuberances or knobs 01. Each cavity 0 has a corresponding knob or protuberance 0? above it and these protuberances are engaged by underside of the heel in the manner shown in Fig. 1..

The result of this construction is that when the weight of the wearer is applied to the pad a it is first imparted to the projections 03 which fiex the soft rubber pad, a,

and open the cavities c causing these oavi ties to exert a suction on the sidewalk or pavement and prevent the heel from slipping under the wearer.

This operation is largely dependent upon the absence of rigid fastening devices by which the pad a is attached to the heel and by reason of the flexible wall 6 thepad is attached to the heel-so that the projections d and cavities c are permitted to function fully and are not cramped and restrained by any rigid fastenings between the pad and the heel which would interfere with the proper action of the arts. In other words, asnoted in Fig. 1, t e'main portion of the bottom pad proper is held normally slightly spaced from the bottom of the heel by the Brojections 03, said main portion of the pad eingfree to move toward and from the b for the pad being'operative around the sides of the heel only facilitates 'or makes They furt ermore by giving a slight elevation to the cupped portion of the pad 1ncrease the gripping or traction efiect of the cups. In conclusion, therefore, it is to be noted that the buoyancy or resiliency and 'bottom of the heel asa result of the tread-. ing upon the device. The attachment means suction efl'ect of the cups by providing a sure air-ti ht fit with the walk or pavement.

the suction effect of my improved heel as herein set forth are both materially enhanced, first and principally by the fact that the means for securing the pad to the shoe heel is all disposed above the plane of the heel and also by the provision of the slight normal space between the main portion of the pad and the bottom of the heel. These facts are substantiated not only by the general structure of the device but are strengthened by the circular rib or ribs 0 surrounding the cups.

What I claim is 1. A soft rubber pad for shoe heels comprising a base part or pad proper adapted to lie under and with the main portion thereof normally spaced slightly below the heel and an upstanding inwardly contracted wall extending from the edges of the pad, the wall being adapted to embrace the lower portion of the heel and contract against the same and constituting the only means to hold the base or heel pad proper yieldingly in place, and said base having a series of suction cavities on its under surface and a series of corresponding protuberances on its upper surface, the protuberances respectively above the cavities and engaged by the the walls of the heel and hold the pad firmly in place, said base being provided on its bottom surface with a concavity forming a suction cup and having a downwardly projecting rib surrounding the cup, and the upper surface of the pad base being formed with means cooperating with the shoe heel and acting to hold the main ortion of the base spaced normally from t e bottom of the heel except when pressure is applied to said means to cause the aforesaid cup and surrounding rib to function.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

' ELLIS s. HELWITZ.

Witnesses PATRICK A. BOLGER, ISAAC B. OWENS. 

